Sara, one of the site moderators, asked that I post this, just to reassure a few people. I am a physician (internal medicine and emergency medicine) and have noticed a lot of posting about
headaches and brain tumors. It is understandable that people who suffer from headaches might wonder whether the headaches come from a brain tumor. Of all headaches experienced, less than 1/2 of one percent are caused by brain tumors. Only about
half of all patients with brain tumors develop a headache, and those headaches are likely to be mild. In most brain tumor patients the headache has characteristics similar to those of a tension-type headache. about
a third have a headache that is worse in the morning and when bending over. Only about
8% of brain tumor patients have
headache as the only symptom of their tumor (i.e., they are also having other symptoms such as weakness in a localized area, numbness, confusion, visual difficulties, speech difficulties, seizures, etc.) The most important thing when you begin having headaches is to be seen initially by a physician to have organic problems such as brain tumors (aneurysms, infections, etc.) ruled out, and be properly diagnosed. In that way the appropriate treatment can be started, and adjusted as time goes by. In over 20 years of seeing (hundreds, ?thousands? of) patients with headaches I have diagnosed exactly 2 people with brain tumors (who did not already know they had one). Almost all the rest had migraines (and a few tension-type headaches; the few aneuysmal bleeds I saw all had a sudden new headache or a change in existing headache.). Once you have a treatment plan established, see a doctor promptly if your headaches suddenly become more severe, their pattern changes, or you notice anything else that is not typical of your "usual" headache. Such changes are to be taken seriously as they can indicate infection, bleeding from aneuysms, certain types of clots, or other serious problems. Well, hope this is helpful.
Laura L.